Review By

Dale Weir 9.0 RATING

Ive always enjoyed racing games. In fact, Super Mario Kart, Ridge Racer Type 4 and World Driver Championship are three of my all-time favorite of the genre, but I was never overly obsessed with any of them. As much as I liked these games, it never occurred to me to head down to the local software store and pick up a driving controller to capture the real racing experience. I believed I was far too sensible and healthily detached from my hobby to indulge in such nonsense. It didnt help that most of these steering wheels often looked clunky and the good ones were generally out of the casual users price range either. But now that its my job to review games and gaming-related hardware, I can no longer hold the same bias and must yield to it. So when the Concept 4 Racing Wheel by Interact (complete with foot pedals) came in the mail, I must admit that not only was I taken aback, but I was surprised at how eager I was to get my hands on it.

While sitting down with the Concept 4, its hard not to admire the outstanding craftsmanship of the steering wheel. It's a stylish amalgam of steel, rubber and plastic that looks amazingly high-tech when compared to other third party peripherals on the market. The wheel itself is coated in rubber (a rarity in controllers these days) and the face of the wheel is a white plastic slip fit that houses a digital control pad and variety of buttons (8 in-game control buttons [4 of which can reprogrammed to repeat other buttons], a start button, a setup button for customizations and a vibration on-off button). My favorite though is the metal levers behind the steering wheel that doubles the foot pedals for gas and brake. They give the overall device a chic, industrial look but at the same time retaining a rugged authentic feel.

Aside from looks, the Concept 4 proves itself quite versatile when it comes to holding it while playing. The steering wheel is connected to a base trunk that can pivot and adjust to multiple angles in order to better suit an individual players style. The steering wheel can also be fastened securely to a tabletop with suction-cups and twisting clamps. The Concept 4 was also designed so that I could essentially sit on the base of it, which held it firmly in place with the actual steering wheel between my legs. Either way, I found that it was a matter of personal preference as to which style of holding the wheel was better.

Regardless of how I was grasping the wheel, with the Concept 4s sturdy construction and high performance feel, I really felt like I was handling a real steering wheel and this translated well to the actual game itself. Turning was a relative breeze with this wheel because it could rotate up to 300 degrees and at the same time it was sensitive enough to allow for minute turn adjustments to keep my car on course. The icing on the cake has to be the Concept 4s built-in vibration feature. Unlike the standard jump paks available, the vibration actually varied depending on the situation; it could emit a constant vibration as I road along the highway or it could shake reasonably violently in the case of a head-on collision.

This is not to say that the Concept 4 is problem free. In some games, the large rotation-allowance of the wheel, made holding onto the metal levers impossible; this meant taking my hands off the gas or brakes at inopportune times and costing me my placing in races. Often it necessitated the use of the foot pedals, but that too brought its own problem. While functional, the foot pedals sometimes felt too stiff while playing, given the steep angle and close proximity of the pedals. It made switching between the gas and the brakes feel unnatural and unlike that of a real car. And on a more aesthetic note, the foot pedals are rather plain. Granted they are just foot pedals and as long as they make the car go or stop when pressed, they could stand to use a facelift along the lines of the design of the wheel itself.

We put this thing through its paces here at the GameCritics.com office and I enjoyed it immensely. I still would not consider myself a hardcore racer by any means but after using such an excellent steering wheel, I can definitely understand the need for them. The Concept 4 made the racing games I tested it on feel even more authentic and its a true compliment to the exquisite graphics the Dreamcast can provide. It was only after I went back to playing the same racers with the standard controller that I became keenly aware of some of their inherent shortcomings. With that in mind, I will continue to use both the Dreamcast control pad and the Concept 4 for the racing games we review. But when it comes to my personal playtime, without a doubt, Ill be using the Concept 4.

Disclaimer: This review is based on the Dreamcast version of the game.

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